Jason Learns
by breezieair
Summary: Set before Mark of Athena. Cannon. Jason is just getting used to things at Camp Half Blood. But he can't stop wondering as to who this Percy Jackson guy is. Story of how Jason tries to learn about Percy this one evening at Camp Half Blood. PercyXAnnabeth


Jason laughed as he made the last hoop. "That's how you do it!"

The other boys who were playing, all braced their hands on their knees and waved him off, exhausted.

Meanwhile Jason's team was celebrating, albeit, with weak lungs.

"Damn, Jason. You sure can throw a ball." A member of his team laughed, clapping him on the back. Jason recalled that he was a Hermes son, Tyler.

"Yeah, did you see him do that Michael Jordan move?" Another kid from his team, Sam (Hephaestus), stupidly mimicked the signature move with his feet still on the ground. Jason laughed at the antics.

"Yeah, well. That's cuz the guy used _special shoes, _hello, to literally float to the hoop." Leo accused angrily. He was on the loosing team. Jason had convinced Leo to join the game last minute.

Needless to say Leo had given him quite a fight about being on Jason's opposing team. In the end, he gave in. And in the end…he lost.

"Okay guys, I'm going to go for a walk before I head to the showers." Jason picked up his, long ago, discarded shirt off the bench and slung it around his shoulders before addressing Leo, "See you at the pavilion for dinner?"

"Wha-? Yeah, man. If I live that long." Leo was laying face up in the dirt, on arm slung over his eyes. "Just…go away, let me die in peace" He lazily swung an arm at Jason, while continually panting like a dog.

Jason smiled, "Yeah, okay. Latter, man."

His only reply was a grunt.

Jason was pleased with the progress he was making with the campers here. It wasn't that he faked being kind or friendly with them, but it was still nerve wracking to know that in less then half a year he would need to have their trust to lead them into battle.

Well, seven of them into battle. He knew four of them. Himself, Piper, Leo, and Annabeth. The other three…? Jason scanned the part of the camp he could see. Well, he was just assuming that the other three would have to be members of the Roman camp. Most likely that Percy Jackson guy…if they could find him.

Jason kicked some dirt into a cloud as he followed the path down to the canoe lake. He absentmindedly rubbed the tattoo on his forearm.

'_If only I could figure out where I came from!'_ He sighed angrily and glared down at the tattoo. '_Then we'd know where that Jackson guy was and everyone would stop…'_

He took in the morale of the campers loitering and passing him. If it were possible to put a color to emotions, then he would say this entire camp was in a morale state of 'sepia'. Not exactly bleak.

But not colorful either.

He was nervous though. These campers, though they were accepting him gradually, didn't _truly_ want him, Jason. They wanted their leader that had been there through it all. They wanted Percy Jackson.

Jason felt a stab of jealousy. Then repented. He knew it was silly. But he already felt threatened by this Percy guy. What if he wanted to lead and make Jason step down? What if he was completely lazy and didn't want to do anything? What if-?

Jason stopped his train of thought, closed his eyes, and counted to ten.

'_There is a reason why he's these kids leader. He's earned this position. Just like you probably earned yours at the other camp.'_

But Jason was still… intimated by this guy. Percy was a year older then him (If Annabeth's age was anything to go by), what if HE thought Jason was the lazy one? Or the incompetent one? That would be mortifying.

If there was one thing Jason wanted more then anything right now. It was to know who this Percy Jackson was. As a person, as a hero,…as a teenaged guy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He decided to first stop by Nept-_Poseidon's _cabin. It was cabin three and the one right next to his. Poseidon's started the wall of the U.

It was decorated in sand and seashells. Made to, Jason was sure, look like the floor of the ocean. Pretty cool.

He stepped up on the first step leading up to the porch. He was nervous. What if he wasn't allowed in there? He looked around to see if anyone was watching him stand motionless at the foot of Poseidon's cabin. People were around, yeah, but they weren't watching him.

He turned back towards the cabin and began the climb (all two steps). When he reached the doorway, he put his hand on the shell knob. He hesitated before opening it.

When he did finally, he found a…semi messy room. Just an ordinary teenaged boy's room. Well, there were fountains and shells and sand everywhere. And demigod weapons hanging on the walls. But other then that…normal.

Jason stepped further into the room and crossed the floor towards the bedside table. He looked at the mess of papers and…objects.

He noticed that everything was shoved under the bed. The objects on Jackson's bedside table were messily straightened, and his bed was made.

Jason furrowed his eyebrows at that observation. Had someone been here since Jackson was kidnapped? Why would his bed be made? Then Jason remembered that the campers have to straighten up their cabins every day before dinner.

'_Percy Jackson must have never made it back here after diner.'_

The cabin suddenly felt eerie. This had been Jackson's last intentional destination. One he never reached… The cabin's temperature seemed to drop suddenly at that thought.

'_He must have quickly cleaned up his room figuring that he would be coming back…and never did.'_

Jason sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. He began pulling on his shirt finally. It was starting to cool off. His jerky movements dislodged a binder (probably one from Jackson's school for homework. It _had_ been winter break after all) and it landed with a slam on the wooden floor.

Jason froze at the noise, staring down at the small disturbance of dust that had risen where the binder had landed, reminding him that it had been _months_ since anyone had been here.

He reached down to pick it up when a few small rectangular pieces fell out. Jason set the binder back down before picking up the rectangles.

He flipped them over, discovering that the rectangles were pictures. Three to be exact. The first one was a small group photo of Chiron, a faw-_satyr_ (Jason corrected himself), and Annabeth who had a guy… who must have been Percy Jackson in a headlock. All were smiling at the camera.

Jason stared intently at Percy Jackson. This was the first picture he had ever seen of him. He was on the tall side, thin, as if he'd had a major growth spurt recently. He was laughing and clearly letting Annabeth hold him in this position. His eyes were closed, his nose scrunched up.

Jason turned to the next picture, which gave him a jolt. It had Jackson, some slight gothic boy, and Jason's sister in it. Thalia was atop Jackson's back in a piggy-back ride position, one arm around his neck, the other had a fist in the air. The gothic boy had his arms crossed and was standing a foot away from the other two, but he was turned towards them. Although his posture screamed 'uncomfortable', he was smirking at Percy, who was in the middle of looking up at Thalia with apparent disbelief.

Jason smiled, he guessed that Thalia had jumped on Percy's back at the last second catching him off guard.

He stared at the gothic boy a little harder. Trying to figure out the kid's relevance to his sister and Percy, when something flashed silver in the corner of the picture where the boy's black shoes were. Jason saw in silver writing '_The Threatening Big Three Children'._

He snorted at the joke. Then Jason realized who the boy must have been. Nico Di Angelo- Son of Pluto. He had heard about him. He's currently searching for Percy Jackson, just like his sister is.

Jason turned his attention back: The children of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto. All in one photo.

He shook his head to clear it of emotions that he couldn't describe. And pulled the third and last photo to the front.

The photo was clearly a candid. And not of Percy. It was obviously often looked at or carried. It had been folded into fourths so many times that the creases in the middle were starting to tear.

It was a photo of Annabeth. She was laughing and reaching for the camera, with an expression that said 'Nooo! Please don't take a picture!' Jason pulled the picture closer to his face to see the details of it. She had flower on her nose, cheeks, and in her hair. She was in a kitchen of some sort and had a wooden spoon in the hand furthest from the camera.

Percy Jackson and Annabeth must have been making cookies or something at one point in time. Maybe a date? Quiet time between the two? He saw a finger in the corner of the picture; Jackson must have taken this picture thinking she looked cute.

'_And she does.'_ Jason found himself agreeing. He wasn't attracted _to_ Annabeth. But she was _attractive._ It almost didn't look like the Annabeth he knew, though. But Jason then realized, he's never really seen her smiling like she was here.

Jason ran a finger along the middle crease pondering what it meant. It showed that Percy Jackson carried this around with him, looking at it frequently too, by the condition of it.

He marveled at the thought. Percy Jackson, this legendary guy, would sneak glances at a picture of his girlfriend. Maybe smile at it, too.

Jason suddenly felt intrusive. This was obviously private. Not that Jackson would ever know…But Jason still felt inclined to put the pictures back exactly where he found them.

As he was doing so, he ended up kicking a cylindrical object near the bedside table, underneath the bed.

Jason swore and bent down to retrieve it. When his hand closed around it, he realized what it must be.

A Minotaur horn. Broken off at the end and stained with blood. He cradled the spoil of war in his hand, wondering how old it must be. It had to be Jackson's. Jason was just wondering when it must have happened. It looked to be a least a couple years old…if not more.

"HEY! Who's in here?" a harsh feminine voice called.

Jason turned around quickly to see who had snuck up on him. It was Clarisse, daughter of Ares, his brain supplied. "Oh, sorry I didn't realize that-"

"Oh, it's you." She muttered not very kindly, standing in the doorway. "Well, I guess it's okay that you're in kelp-for-brains cabin." She looked warily inside, like she was expecting something to jump out at her.

Jason could tell something was wrong. He'd been around the camp for few months now. Clarisse was never nervous. Brutal, yes, but never nervous.

"Do you want to come…in?" Jason asked, not really sure what to say.

She looked at him wildly for a moment, before composing herself and shaking her head. "No way. I've never been in Prissy's cabin and never will. "

Jason was taken aback by the negative nickname. "You don't like Jackson?"

Clarisse only shrugged and looked away.

"So, you don't?"

Again, Clarisse didn't say anything.

Jason decided to weed it out of her. If he was going to learn about how Percy Jackson was the leader of this camp, he wanted to learn it through everyone's eyes. "I'm not surprised that you didn't like him." Jason lied.

Clarisse's head turned towards him but her eyes didn't meet his.

"Yeah, it doesn't sound like he ever did anything interesting. Puh," Jason tossed the minotaur horn on the bed "Bet I could beat him easy."

"You really think so, kid?"

Jason took note of the disbelief in her tone. "Yeah, I've always imagined he was some sort of loser. I mean, I'm the son of Jupiter, after all. Poseidon is second. Always."

The entire cabin shook at his words, he had to brace himself on the wall to keep from falling over.

"Look here, JASS-son. You can't come into our camp and start insulting our leader. He may be a bit of a priss at times, but he's one of the best-" she caught herself.

Jason turned to smile at her, "So you do like Percy Jackson?"

She turned red in the face, catching on to his trick. "As a person? No. As a leader…sometimes."

"Most times?"

"Don't push it."

Jason held up his hands in defeat. "I just wanted to know more about the guy. And you weren't giving me…ah, truthful answers." He walked out the cabin door and passed her with a fist bump on the shoulder.

"Yeah, well, Percy is…" She hesitated.

Jason stopped once he was out of the cabin fully and turned to face her.

"Jackson's…ugh." She smashed a palm to her forehead. "He's a… good fighter. Wears his heart on his sleeve, though. Dumbshi-"

"Ah, 'Prissy'." Jason understood her nickname now.

"But he's probably one of the greatest things that could have happened to this camp." She stomped down the steps and poked Jason hard in the chest. "Don't you ever repeat that. To anyone. Got it, Zappy?"

'_Zappy?'_ Jason thought, aghast. "Yeah, sure. You can trust me."

Clarisse eyed him for a moment longer before adjusting her bandanna with a quick tug, "Don't try that 'insulting Percy' thing on anyone else either, pal." She commented while walking away. "You'll get beat up for sure, with that."

Jason thought she sounded a little hopeful.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Jason walked up the pathway to the dining pavilion. It was dusk now. The sky was an awesome shade of red and blue. The wind picked up speed as he neared the pavilion.

He hated dinner time. He always had to eat alone. Some far off memory reminded him that he never liked dinnertime, as much as he loved to eat.

When he sat down at his table. He asked for a glass of milk. It immediately filled to the brim with the comforting liquid. He got up once his food had appeared and scraped some of it into the pit as an offering for the gods.

Jason, for once, didn' t send one only to his father this time. He saved a small portion of his offering for Poseidon. As an apology for what he had said about him earlier. '_Please don't smite me.' _ Jason added as an after thought and went to go sit back down.

"Hey, Jason."

His head shot up to see who had decided to come sit with him. It was Piper, of course. Unafraid as always.

"Come to sit with me, then?" He asked as he sat down.

"Yeah, I figured you shouldn't eat alone _all_ of the time." She winked and began to eat her mashed potatoes.

Jason watched her for a moment longer. The sun was fading and the rays glowed on her copper cheekbones. He shook his head and dug in. She was only in a bright orange T-shirt, tattered jeans, and her hair was in a simple ponytail, and she was still the prettiest thing here.

"Hey, Piper?"

"Mm?" She muttered glancing up at him.

"What do you think of Percy Jackson?"

She slowed her chewing down and looked up at him. She hid her mouth with the back of her hand, "Vwell," She swallowed the food that was obstructing her speech, "What are you asking for exactly? How is he as a person? Or how is he as a fighter?"

"He's obviously a very talented fighter." Jason said, poking his food around with his fork. "I mean, he battled Kronos on his own last summer. That alone says something. And that's not even all he's done, from what I hear."

"Sooo, you're asking what I think of him as a person?" Piper clarified.

"…Yeah, I guess I am."

"I don't know him. I mean, I had a talk with Annabeth about him one time-"

Jason looked at her, "How did she describe him?"

Piper bit her lip, "Well, I don't really know how much of our conversation I should disclose…"

Jason rolled his eyes playfully, "C'mon, Pipes. Why not?"

"Because it's a girl thing. She opened up to me." She began cutting up her meat. "If you want to know, I think you should go ask her."

"You think so?" Jason muttered, he turned around to look for the Athena table. He found Annabeth sitting in the middle of her siblings, though she didn't seem to be noticing all that was going on around her. She had her face turned towards the ocean, with her head propped up on her hand.

"She misses him more then she lets on, Jason." Piper muttered.

"No, I can tell that she misses him." Jason disagreed. "She's constantly looking for him, checking up on everyone's progress,-"

Piper shook her head, "No, that's just her doing her job trying to find the missing leader of the camp. When you speak to her about it, you'll see. It's not a normal teenage relationship. They're attached so strongly, I mean, for only being together for so short of a time before he disappeared."

"How long were they together before he was taken?"

"A couple months, I think."

Jason nodded, "And I suppose I should take your word on this matter, 'O-daughter-of –the-love-goddess'?"

She glared at him, "Yes. You. Should." She pointed her fork at him with each word.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jason tried to catch up to Annabeth when everyone was dismissed to the campfire. But she melded into the crowed of laughing kids and disappeared.

He internally shrugged. He would catch her another time. He walked down to the Campfire with Leo who was talking animatedly about something he had found under a work bench in the armory. Some kind of machine that did some kind of cool thing… Jason couldn't follow.

"…I can't wait 'till I get it up and running." Leo was saying as Jason and him took their seats. "It'll be high, fly for this little guy!"

Jason nodded absentmindedly. His mind was still on Percy Jackson. As it had been for the past couple of hours. He wished he could hear some of the stories without sounding too pestering. People would start to wonder why he wanted to know so much. Then they may piece together that he, Jason, might be a little insecure when it came to Percy Jackson. And no one can take an insecure leader seriously.

What Jason needed was _another_ way for him to hear these stories…He stared broodily into the fire.

One blond boy from the Apollo cabin was getting his lyre ready for the sing-alongs, when it hit Jason. What do people do around campfire's besides singing?

'_They tell stories!'_

Jason looked around for Chiron. If he could just talk to Chiron, maybe he could ask him to start off!

Jason apologized for stopping Leo mid-sentence, before running off to the white centaur he had spotted on the other side of the fire.

"Chiron!" He called jogging up to the counselor-figure.

"Jason?" Chiron inclined his head, "What can I do for you? Do you have a song for sing-along tonight-?"

"No, actually." Jason looked around surreptitiously, checking that no one would overhear. He leaned in closer, "I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you?"

XXXXXXXXX

Jason sat back down quietly while Leo looked at him curiously.

"What was that all about, dude?"

"What?" Jason asked, not really wanting to explain himself just yet. Chiron was now trotting up to the Apollo boy to tell him the change of plans.

"You seemed pretty urgent when you ran over to Chiron." Leo commented.

"I didn't run."

"Jog, run-whatever. Don't avoid."

"I'm not avoiding." Jason looked at him. "I just-"

"Okay, everyone!" The Apollo boy yelled out. Everybody quieted down waiting for his or her sing-along instructions. "Change of plans!"

There was an outbreak of muttering. Not aghast muttering, not angry either. Just commenting on the change.

"Instead of singing tonight. We're going to be telling stories!"

Some people clapped. Changing it up can be good, healthy even.

"What stories, Nick?" A girl from the Ares cabin asked.

"Well, I figure it's high time we entertain our Roman guest," Nick winked in Jason direction. "And any new campers to the 'Saga of the Luckiest Unlucky Kid: Percy Jackson'."

Almost everyone laughed, and some people clapped. But everyone, thankfully, looked eager to talk about their missing leader.

"A.K.A 'How-the-Hell-Does-This-Kid-Stay-Alive-Year-after-Year?'" Commented someone from the Venus (Er, Aphrodite) cabin.

More laughter.

" 'A.K.A 'Because-Annabeth-Chase-is-With-the-Seaweedbrain'" A guy from Hephaestus called out, mimicking the perfect tone of voice that Jason's heard Annabeth use from time to time.

An explosion of cat-calls and laughter echoed at that joke. Jason look for Annabeth but she was nowhere to be found. She must have not been feeling very festive.

But finally Nick got everyone back under control.

"Okay, so where should we start? The beginning?" he looked around, "Who wants to tell it?"

"Why don't you start? You were here when it started!" someone called out.

Nick smiled and rubbed his hands together, "Alright," He cleared his throat.

Jason sat forward on the edge of his seat, ready to learn anything and everything about his possible co-leader…or rival.

"Grover Underwood, the satyr, was on his last chance to bring a demigod to camp." Nick started out. "His last attempt had ended with Thalia, daughter of Zeus, getting turned into a Pine tree."

Jason hadn't been aware that the fawn had gotten Thalia in that kind of trouble. He wondered where Nick was going with this Grover.

"He had been dispatched to this school for troubled children where he could _feel_ the presence of a demigod. When Grover got there, he had to call Chiron in, for he felt that this demigod he found was a powerful one. He could sense the same type of power he felt off of Thalia on this kid.

"Once Chiron got there, he noticed it, too. This kid was the scrawny, impulsive, unimpressive, eleven-year-old boy, by the name of Percy Jackson."

Jason's eyes widened at the…unflattering description. But calmed down when he saw half the camp smiling, fond of Percy.

"Well," Nick corrected, "_seemingly _unimpressive, I should say." The campers laughed.

"In the end, Percy wound up at Camp Half-blood because he was being chased by not only monsters, but Zeus and Hades's minions as well!

Leo glanced nervously at Jason.

"Zeus had gotten his lightening bolt stolen, you see. He didn't know who to blame. And along comes Percy Jackson. A child of Poseidon, born against the rules of the big three.

"Zeus believed that Poseidon wanted the throne. But since Gods cannot take godly weapons from eachother, Zeus figured that Poseidon would have gotten Percy to do his dirty work."

"What?" Jason muttered. They said that the kid had been eleven years old! He didn't even know that he was a demigod yet!

"So, Grover, Percy, and Percy's mom were at a race against Zeus, and all the other monsters set after him, to get to this camp. A safe haven."

The campers were getting quieter and quieter.

"The night was dark. The rain and wind were screaming through the trees, monsters and eyes could be seen as their car raced to Camp Half Blood. Percy and Grover made it. But Percy's mom did not." Nick said solemnly.

Jason tried to breath even. His dad hadn't killed Percy Jackson's mom, had he?

"She had been strangled by a Minotaur." Nick cringed, as if he regrets saying the name. "Percy, in a fit of rage, fought the creature bare-handed and won. He still has his spoil of war: the horn of the beast."

Jason realized with a shock, that he had seen the very horn just that evening…

"Now, I was here the first time Percy showed up. He was two years older then me." Nick held up his hands, "So if my version is a little skewed by my young age, excuse me." He cleared his throat and continued. "I remember seeing a kid collapse on the big house's porch steps. The next thing I saw was Annabeth," he gave a small knowing smile, "and Chiron hefting Percy up and into the house."

Jason saw Piper across the way smile ever so slightly. Jason was puzzled for a moment more before he saw the rest of the Aphrodite kids smiling. '_Oh,'_ Jason realized, _'they're smiling about Percy and Annabeth.'_

"Now, when he got to camp, Percy was just like the rest of us. He had no idea who his godly parent might be. In the meantime, he got to know everyone and figured out how things worked. He also became close friends with…er, Luke-"His throat caught. "Remember that name." He glanced at Jason. "It'll come up a few times."

After a tense silence, Nick continued.

"Well, Percy also made some enemies to go along with those friends," Nick continued giving a pointed head nod in the Ares cabin direction. "He, himself: completely drenched: and this person shall remain nameless,… Clarisseintoiletandsewerwater." Nick said that last part quickly, before ducking under a small rock thrown his way.

"You said it was gonna be nameless, jerk!" Called the rock-thrower herself.

"ANYway," Nick continued, "In the end, it was a capture the flag game that announced who his godly parent was. And needless to say, for the camp to find out that _another _god had broken his vow to never have anymore children was mildly unsettling.

"Remember, Camp-Half blood had no idea as to why the big three made the pact in the first place. We only knew that a child of the big three was going to bring something bad." Nick looked down, seemingly to steal himself for what he was about to say.

"So, _sweet_ and _loving_ Annabeth," Nick checked around to make sure that Annabeth was still absent. "got Percy onto her team, just to lure the biggest opponent away from the rest of the game for a while. Percy was put way out of the way just so that Clarisse would go looking for him, along with the chance to beat him up."

Jason listened intently as Nick described the battle between Percy and Clarisse. Percy was fast. He was able to completely disarm and break an older and more experienced camper's weapon (an electic spear?) and only obtain minimal cuts and injuries from it. Jason listened to how Annabeth had admitted to Percy about how she put him in harms way, thinking he wouldn't get hurt. She had been correct, right?

She was the one who figured out the correlation between Percy and water. She had noticed that when he got himself wet (what?) he fought better then anyone this camp has ever seen. Not only that, but she was the first one to notice that his cuts and bruises healed almost instantly when he was in water.

It was with that revelation that prompted Percy's 'Claiming'. Jason heard about how a glowing, green trident had appeared over Percy's head that night. How the campers were so shocked to be in the presence of _another_ one of the Big Three's children. And he heard how Annabeth, though shocked, had had a feeling about who Percy godly parent might have been.

Apparently, Annabeth was always right.

"Annabeth could figure almost anything out." A girl from Aphrodite's cabin chirped in, she was an older camper. "She was so sharp and…right so much of the time Percy couldn't help getting a little irritated." She rolled her eyes. "Hell, we _all_ could get a little irritated!" Everyone chuckled in agreement. "But if there was one thing…just one thing that Annabeth could never figure out…it was her _feelings_ for Percy." She laughed. "It took them _forever_!" She bemoaned.

The campers laughed.

Jason sat for the rest of the night and listened to fantasical tales of the "seemingly unimpressive" Percy Jackson.

He heard how Percy had swan dived off the Gateway Arch. How Percy, Annabeth, and Grover had bested the creepy Lotus Hotel. How they had gone to the deepest parts of the underworld and come out on top.

He listened to tales of battles with gods, blowing up ships, killing monsters, losing friends, being blasted out of a volcano, keeping hold of Olympus against all odds…

Jason could not remember the last time he had been so impressed by a solitary person. He glanced sideways at Piper and amended his thoughts.

"…an-and then," Another camper had taken over by now, whipping at his tears from mirth, he was consumed in laughter, "Annabeth says, 'Come back alive, Seaweed Brain, and _then_ we'll see.'"

This was met with raucous laughter, even Chiron joined everyone with his deep bellowing laugh.

"This kid has no game!" Leo laughed with everyone joining in.

"Well, I wouldn't say that…"

Both Jason and Leo jumped at the voice to their right.

It was Annabeth. She was sitting with her legs crossed and her arms folded. Though her posture seemed tense she had a small smile on her face.

"I mean," she continued, "I _did_ end up dating him, didn't I?"

"I-uh-wha-when did you get here?" Leo stuttered.

She shrugged, "I came in at the sinking of Princess Andromeda." She uncrossed herself and folded her hands between her thighs. "I guess I missed most of the story."

Jason chuckled, "I think you know it well enough."

She looked at him tensely for a moment before smiling "Ha, yeah, I suppose I don't really need a refresher, do I?"

Jason knew it was rhetorical. He knew that the story was still continuing on without him paying attention. But he also knew that this might be his moment to speak to Annabeth about Percy. Her walls, though strong, seemed down more then usual.

"Hey, Annabeth?"

She looked over at him.

"Do you think I can talk to you for a few minutes?"

She cave him a cautious look before conceding, "Sure." She got up to her feet and led the way, away from the campers and down the path towards the cabins.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before he felt brave enough to ask his questions.

Jason opened his mouth to speak-

"You know I'm not going to bite you, right?"

All the air whooshed out of him, "Oh, I uh, I know that."

"You sure?" she questioned with a look in his direction. "I'm assuming you are afraid to talk to me or ask me what you want to, because it has something to do with Percy."

"Well, I-" Jason started. He cleared his throat "Yes. I just, I don't know, don't want to upset you."

She waved him off, "No, no, no. Don't even worry about it. I'll be fine. We'll find him. I've come to terms with that." She led him down the way to the beach. "If anything? I have faith that he'll at least find his way back to me." She crossed her arms "He always does…" she said that last part much quieter.

Jason gave a pause and looked out at the ocean. It was dark now, the moon was large and full. There were no clouds in sight and so the ocean watter shimmered with stars.

"It was here that we all gathered after the Princess Andromeda disaster."

Jason started, they must have both been lost in thought looking at the ocean . "Oh yeah? That was right before the start of the battle for Olympus, right?"

Annabeth crossed her arms, still staring out, and breathed deeply. "Yeah, it was…it was actually one of the hardest deaths we had to face during that time. And there were a lot of them."

"Beckendorf." Jason recalled from the story he had just heard. "I could hear their sadness…when they told the story."

"It was. It was very sad." She pointed out to the horizon, "It was Percy and Beckendorf alone. They had to destroy the ship that was carrying Luke…Luke was um about to be Kronos" She breathed in deep again "And they were captured and brought to deck-"

"Percy told you this?"

She nodded, pulling back some strands of hair that were getting caught in the breeze, "Yeah, not at first. It took him time to tell me. But apparently they were caught and Beckendorf had already set the explosives…"

"And he signaled to Percy that there was no time one he hit the button." Jason finished.

Annabeth nodded and let out a shaky breath, "Yes. Beckendorf hit the Button and Percy launched himself off the ship…unable to save Beckendorf."

She walked forward and slipped off her shoes. Jason joined her and they both stuck their feet in the cool water.

"I could feel it, you know." Annabeth continued. Looking out to where she pointed before, where Jason can only assume the smoke had billowed up from. "I knew something had gone wrong. I was organizing the stables and suddenly the wind was knocked out of me and- and I was rushing here."

Jason looked at her profile that was sharpened against the moon. He expected to see tears but there were none. Annabeth was strong.

"I'm sure that I was running so fast but it felt like an eternity when I finally ran into Chiron. He said He had the feeling too." Her voice broke, "Chiron feels terrible for this of course, for worrying me, but he said 'Annabeth, listen to me' and he put his hands on my shoulders." She mimicked the motion, " He said 'I want you to be ready…I only feel one presence returning'."

Jason watcher her lower her trembling arms. He could almost feel the terror, the worry. It might be a past subdued memory that mirrored this feeling. Had he worried for anyone like this?

"I don't remember much except pushing past him and running to the beach where other campers were gathering. I have no memory of what I was thinking or the path I took. The next thing I really remember was once I pushed through the crowed and saw Percy…standing here." She looked down and a little to her right. Just between where She and Jason stood. "All I could think was 'it's mine. The one who came back was mine'."

Jason looked away as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Poor Selena. Gods, I felt so heartless to be so relieved when I could have easily been her."

"I'm sure she understands" Jason comforted. He reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn't shrug it off.

Annabeth smiled, "Selena was the nicest person. Didn't have a mean bone in her body."

"Was?"

Annabeth nodded and rubbed at her nose.

"Ah. I'm sorry." Jason said. '_This camp has lost so many. No wonder the loss of Percy stings so hard.'_

Annabeth's breathing had returned to normal. "Anyway, you meant to talk about Percy. And here I am morbidly reminiscing."

They laughed awkwardly, "No no, it's alright!" Jason said. "I'm a firm believer that keeping things in, is never the way to healing."

Annabeth nodded, "wise."

Jason took that as a high compliment from a child of Athena. "So…have you had that feeling sense?"

"About Percy? No. At least, not since he disappeared. I can tell you the exact moment he did: 10:17pm."

Jason shook his head rapidly, "Wait what? How do you know it to the minute?"

She chucked a little darkly and held up her wrist. "I wear a watch."

"Ah."

"I remember that he kissed me goodnight, we were the last to head to bed," She cleared her throat here and Jason felt a little awkward too at the implications, "And uhm…well we parted and I looked back once and he was standing on the steps to his cabin and waved at me. I turned to go into my door when I felt the weight."

She clenched her fist just below her chest. "The Greeks call this a 'Thumos'. The gut feeling. And I felt it, cold and heavy and when I blinked I thought I missed a flash of light. And when I turned around- No Percy."

She sighed and started to step out of the ocean. "I doubted myself. I thought he had just gone inside. I looked at my watch. 10:17. It would be hours before I realized he was gone."

Jason and Annabeth grabbed their shoes and began the walk back to the camp. He let the silence last while he thought about all he had heard.

'_Percy was snatched up just like that. He never did make it back to his room. Annabeth was the last to see him…' _He glanced at her, she was holding herself as she walked along silently. '_That fact probably eats away at her._'

"There was probably nothing you could have done, you know." He said. She looked at him with her grey eyes, piercing him. "He could have been across the county in an instant."

She nodded, "Logically I know that. But how would you feel if you waved goodbye to Piper and then she disappeared as you turned around?"

Jason felt his face scrunch up in dislike "Guilty."

"Exactly."

They had made it up to the main path, Campers were just now clearing from the embers that were the campfire. Jason and Annabeth stood there as everyone pushed and laughed and sang past them.

"Percy is a great fighter." Annabeth said, clearly as a closing statement. "But he was also the underdog. He's personable, funny, and can laugh at himself. He's a man of the people."

Jason looked at the crowed of campers passing them, he could hear bursts of Percy's name in the air. "I can see that."

The crowed had passed, Annabeth smiled and began to walk backwards away from Jason towards her cabin, "He's also the man of my heart." She waved and turned around, done opening up for the night.

Jason watched her go, she walked alone-still holding herself.

'_I think your camp and your girl need you, man.'_ He thought as he looked towards the sky. _'Where are you?_'


End file.
